“Hello. My name is Mary Anne, and I was laid off this morning.” It was a jarring start to introductions at a regular Zoom meetup I attend with older women in tech. The sadness by all those there was palpable, even on a screen. What happened next, though, was the silver lining to that moment as we continued around the room and the rest of us introduced ourselves. Everyone lifted Mary Anne up with their words of support, tales of their own layoff, and stories of happy endings with reemployment. A coach even offered her help for whatever Mary Anne needed during such a stressful time. This was the Zoom embodiment of the layoff bookends: sadness and support.
Layoffs are common in tech, especially now: Statistica reports more than 88,000 tech layoffs worldwide during Covid. In fact, there are websites that keep a running track of the who, what, and when. For example, Layoffs FYI tracks startups and the number of people they’ve laid off since the pandemic began and has a severance tracker with the number of weeks they offer, all sourced from public data. The Layoff List claims you can “get the scoop on upcoming layoffs from insiders.” The site posts the company laying off, the number of employees affected, and an excerpt from the news source. They also provide the opportunity to leave an anonymous tip.
But isn’t tech generally seen as a growing sector? This article highlights the current disconnect in the Bay Area, with large layoffs alongside high hiring bursts.
So in a strong economy, why so many tech layoffs? It’s a product of the venture capital–backed startup model. In general, investors want to see exponential growth. Which causes startups to focus heavily on adding employees as they grow. Then, when the market changes, or the company pivots or fails to get additional funding, they are required to trim back and adjust. That adjustment may be to cut payroll costs to stay afloat, or to reconfigure the workforce and hire employees for different roles that better fit a new direction. Unlike for traditional companies, the startup ethos is to be nimble and act quickly.
Unfortunately for companies laying off, turnover can ultimately be expensive. It solves an immediate problem, but it also has expensive repercussions. The cost of replacing an employee, when that time comes, can be 1-2.5 times the payroll burden of the original employee. And the morale and productivity of remaining employees often take a hit.
But, alas, layoffs happen. And when they do, support can be a key ingredient for the victim to weather the storm. Where to find it? Working with a coach, while it can be expensive, has support built into it. And many offer group coaching opportunities, where you meet with others in a cohort for a lower cost. You can also find support through affinity groups or forums like Meetup, Startup Grind, Elpha, Indie Hackers, and Facebook or LinkedIn groups.
I have no doubt Mary Anne will land on her feet. There is an industry-wide reshuffling going on right now in tech. While some companies are laying off, many are hiring. The key will be for her to stay upbeat during the job search process (not always easy!) with plenty of support, until the perfect opportunity comes along.